A Cliff Hike

I decided to take the trail from Hahei Village to Cathedral Cove. In the heat of summer, the first ten minutes was a mainly up hill climb, but the view off shore made it worthwhile.

Shakespeare’s Cliff Reserve

I took the short hike up the hill along side the dusty road to take in the estuary and Maramaratotara Bay in one direction and Lonely Bay and Cooks Bay around the other side of the cliff.

Te Wairoa Falls Trail

Inside Te Wairoa’s buried village, was a trail that followed Tarawera River to the falls with approximately one hundred steps down to the bottom.

Tikitapu (Blue Lake)

Tikitapu was named after the daughter of a chief who lost her sacred greenstone neck ornament. The pristine waters, located just out of Rotorua, were surrounded by a forest of tree ferns.

Joffre Lake Provincial Park

The aqua water of Lower Joffre Lake mirrored the pines on the opposite bank. Above loomed Matier Glacier with its melting ice cascading from Upper Joffre Lake, to Middle Joffre Lake, to the one I stood near. The sun glistened on the snow covering the peak, making it impossible to turn back.

Barnett Marine Park

Barnett Marine Park, just off the highway in Burnaby, is a place to hike if you want that open space feeling rather than being enclosed by tall trees as in most of B.C.’s hiking trails.

North Vancouver’s Twin Falls

Lynn Canyon Park’s Twin Falls was nothing spectacular, but the trail down to the falls was worth the short hike.

Flowers Cove thrombolites

Further north from Newfoundland’s Port au Choix was Flowers Cove where on a clear day, it was possible to see the coastline of Labrador. On the day I arrived in the tiny town, this wasn’t possible but I wasn’t disappointed because I’d come to see the thrombolites.

According to the sign along the well-maintained trail, thrombolites, or living rocks, were like the earliest forms of life on earth from over three billion years ago. Not only were they ancient, but rare. In fact, they are only found in one other place in the world, Shark Bay in Western Australia.

Western Brook Fjord, Gros Morne

The southern trails were in sharp contrast to Western Brook Pond fjord. I’d hiked for an hour through low, but lush vegetation to arrive at a jetty where the tour boat would head out. I was told they weren’t sure when the next sail would be because the weather looked ominous. The only family waiting and I shrugged our shoulders. We’d taken the hike, so might as well see how the day turned out.

Newfoundland’s Sherwink Trail

I left the Avalon Peninsula and drove north stopping at Trinity East before heading to Bonavista.

I took the Sherwink Trail and hiked through forest, past cliffs and up, down and around to a beach. Fog rolled in and I heard the sound of a warning horn through the grey mist but never spied the boat.